Conventional car waxes, bug removers and other auto detailing formulas are good at their jobs because they contain strong chemicals. Unfortunately these synthetic substances—including glycol monobutyl ether, a registered pesticide, and the petroleum derivatives naptha and cosmoline—can irritate skin, cause other more serious health problems, and get into our groundwater once they are rinsed away.

Luckily consumers have many alternatives to choose from. A handful of forward-thinking companies have risen to the challenge of developing car care products that won’t harm our bodies or the environment. Many car wax manufacturers have discovered that wax naturally-extracted from the Carnauba palm of Brazil does a great job of protecting auto paint and clear coat from bird poop, dead bugs and other nasties. Optimum Car Wax, for example, can protect your car"s finish without abrasive chemicals and instead combines Carnauba wax with lanolins (obtained from sheep"s wool) like those found in gentle hand lotions.

For washing your vehicle, Simple Green Car Wash Cleaner handles automotive dirt, grime, grease, bug stains and everything in-between without polluting. The concentrated formula contains none of the toxic volatile organic compounds (VOCs) found in most such cleaners. It can be used safely to clean paint, clear coat, windows, chrome, rubber, canvas and vinyl. Another environmentally sensitive way to clean off caked-on bug guts and other gooey debris without resorting to noxious chemicals is by dissolving baking soda in warm water, then gently rubbing the mixture into the car with a soft cloth.

Detailer"s Pride Gel Wheel Cleaner, available online at driveit.com, among other retailers, is an environmentally sensitive choice for removing caked on brake dust on wheels and grime off trunk lids and engine compartments. It also gets stains off of vinyl and convertible tops, cleans greasy door jams, and is ideal for loosening and removing bug and white wax residues. It is water based, and contains no harmful solvents or chemicals.

For keeping your vehicle"s moving parts at optimal performance, Balchip Corporation, based in Toronto, Ontario, offers a wide range of environmentally friendly engine treatments and fuel additives that serve to dissolve corrosive build-ups and keep parts working together smoothly. Based on the pioneering research of Canadian biochemist Paul Deogrades, all Balchip products are derived from plants and trees and as such are completely biodegradable and non-toxic.

Dear EarthTalk: What"s the story with electro-magnetic fields? Can you really get cancer from living near clusters of power lines or from sleeping near the fuse box in your house?

—Tim Hutchins, Arcata, CA

Over the past 25 years, there has been growing concern and controversy in the scientific community—and in the public domain—about possible links between electro-magnetic fields (EMFs) and any of several forms of cancer.

EMFs are invisible lines of force that radiate from sources of electricity, including power lines and transformers, interior home wiring and all electrical appliances, gadgets and machinery. These fields have both electric and magnetic components that diminish in strength with distance. The electric segment of the field may be at least partially blocked by physical barriers, such as walls, trees and partitions, but the magnetic segment is much less easily shielded.

In an attempt to clear up concerns and uncertainties about the health effects of EMFs, the federally funded National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) conducted a multi-million dollar, five-year study of all relevant EMF research during the mid-1990s. Although NIEHS concluded in 1998 that there was still no clear answer to the question of risk, it did affirm that extremely low frequency (ELF) EMFs should be classified as possible human carcinogens in the case of two cancers: childhood leukemia related to residential exposure; and chronic lymphocytic leukemia in adults in occupational settings.

A few years later the World Health Organization concluded, based on studies of childhood leukemia, that ELF magnetic (but not electric) fields were possibly carcinogenic to humans.

But uncertainty remains. One of NIEHS"s key conclusions in 1998 was: "Despite a multitude of studies, there remains considerable debate over what…health effects result from exposure to EMF. There is still no clear answer to the question, "Can exposure to electric and magnetic fields resulting from production, distribution and use of electricity promote cancer or initiate other health problems?"" NIEHS decided there was inadequate evidence to draw any clear conclusions.

But while the evidence of EMFs effects on humans is not conclusive, May Dooley, whose company Enviro Health Environmental Home Inspections provides comprehensive on-site EMF testing, cites several scientific studies showing that EMF exposure has increased the size and number of tumors in laboratory animals. She recommends reducing exposure as much as possible: "If someone with cancer knew that eating a certain food would speed up the growth of tumors, you can bet that he or she wouldn"t eat that food."

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